im generally lacking confidence and motivation and im starting to think that even if i do get a phd, i wont be able to use it because im just not good at working by myself and its not that fun sometimes. im starting to consider the worst case scenario where i stay for 2 more years and have my thesis rejected and waste even more time. im not sure what to do but hearing about similar experiences and what you did is useful. thanks.

thanks for the replies. i actually enjoyed it at the start as i was working on a small project that got me lots of good feedback so i felt like i was doing something worthwhile. i might be able to feel that way about what im doing at the moment again which is why im cautious. my work is beginning to pick up but i find myself avoiding reading literature, im easily discouraged when i cant do things or when i dont understand what im trying to read about, im fed up of the isolation where you feel youre the only person who cares about your work, writing up anything takes me forever etc.

i might spend 2 more years on this and then have to give up when i can't produce a good enough thesis. even if i get a phd, I can't imagine industry employers caring much that i have one. it will raise eyebrows in interviews if i don't finish but i can't think of it being that big an issue. can anyone relate to this and give any advice? i think if i knew i would enjoy industry work and that there's little chance of me finishing within 4 years I would leave.

i'm nearly 3 years into my phd. my progress has been very slow. i've felt overwhelmed and have been struggling for the last 2 years. i can't see the end in sight. i might finish if i did nothing but work for the next 1.5 years but i've lost interest and find it hard to get motivated. i don't think i'm cut out to be a researcher. i'm not enjoying the work. i hate writing papers. i don't like struggling to understand what most papers/talks are about. even if i finish, i can't see myself being employable as a researcher as my lack of progress seems to show i'm not good at being one as i can't meet deadlines, plan research or understand literature. i used to feel good about the job area i worked in before as i was good at it, it felt rewarding and received lots of praise. i feel demoralized and incompetent working as a phd student. it's obviously hard to give up after spending almost 3 years on this but i can't see the point.

i'm not sure about this. i didnt sign anything that made it clear to me that i would have to pay back grant payments if i fail/quit. i think that if you quit your university will be given slightly less money for students next year.

i know i will eventually be an expert in my chosen areas but i'm so frustrated at the moment because i'm not entirely sure what my chosen areas are yet. i'm looking at several areas at the moment so i cant just go and get a book and work through it to pick up all the words and techniques i'm meant to know because it might be a waste of time. but because i dont know about any of the areas properly yet i feel like reviewers and such think im stupid and lazy. i will know my areas well when i find out what they are. :(

anyone else having this problem? it just feels like all i can do is wait

does anyone else find that they are expected to know an unreasonable amount of literature when starting out with their phd? i'm getting towards the end of my first year and have settled on a topic, but this topic naturally overlaps with other complex topics. whenever i give a talk on it or have a meeting, it feels like i'm expected to know about all of these other topics indepth and people get annoyed that i don't. it feels like i'm being expect to learn multiple topics and propose new research at the same time and it doesn't seem realistic to me and is very stressful. :-(

hi. i have nearly finished my first year and i am having doubts about my thesis topic. i choose it while having very little knowledge in the area because of deadlines and could not settle on one and i now feel out of my depth. it would seem more sensible to me if an expert in some field gave me a promising proposal to look at and guide me in it but i am told this is not how a phd works by my supervisor. is anyone else in the same situation? i feel completely lost. :-(